Written By Jenny Pavlovic

Willis and I were in the backyard for his last potty stop, late at night. It was almost Halloween, and the moon was just about full. I heard a rustling in the leaves and saw a small rodent coming into the yard under the chain link fence on the south side. I turned and moved toward him, to steer him away from the house. Willis followed me and the rodent paused, then turned and went back out through the fence, shuffling it seemed, by the coarse rustling of leaves.

Willis and I went back to our games so he could unwind a bit before bed time. A few minutes later, we were both paused by a loud rustling of leaves in the woods behind the yard. Was it a coyote? A dog? A deer? A mountain lion? The rustling got louder, like a whole string of deer moving through the woods, or maybe something worse—think “Blair Witch Project”! Willis cocked his head and moved toward the back fence. He “woofed” a few times, let out a low growl, and focused on the rustling leaves as the creature moved through the dark woods.

The rustling came closer, approaching the fence again, this time on the north side. Willis and I stood frozen, waiting in suspense for the intrepid creature to emerge from the dark. Our gazes were fixed straight ahead, but then we had to lower them as we discovered that the commotion was coming from… the same little rodent. When deterred from crossing the yard inside the fence, he had detoured around the perimeter and continued marching.

The little guy came back in under the chain link fence from the back corner. I held Willis back as he strained against his collar. The rodent was too big and heavy to be a mouse, but certainly not large enough to be a rat. He paused, sensing us but not seeing, moving his head back and forth trying to detect what stood in front of him. I realized that he was blind and must be a mole, a critter usually found underground, not rustling around on the surface. Willis and I stepped toward him again and kindly steered him back toward the fence.  He went back out underneath it on the north side, then headed north and kept on shuffling through the leaves, clearly intent on getting wherever he was going.

I felt kind of sheepish for thinking that this blind little guy was a big scary creature in the woods. Willis had hesitated and backed up too, for a while, when we could hear the mole, but couldn’t see him. The little guy must have been plowing through some deep leaves!

What message are we to take from this? That something that sounds big and scary (making a mountain lion out of a mole) might just be a small creature on a big mission who can be diverted by taking a few steps in his direction? What about from the mole’s perspective? That a blind determined little mole who knows where he wants to go will get there one way or another? That even when you get off track, you can keep going and get where you were meant to go? That even if your goal is not in sight, it’s out there and if you keep going, you’ll get there eventually? That a bold and determined little guy can get around two big guys; if he really wants to, he’ll find a way?

The mole reminded me of something I told myself a few years ago and decided to write down: “Nothing silences doubt like putting one foot in front of the other, moving in the direction of your dreams. Keep taking that next step.” I’m not sure why the little mole was traveling above ground or where he was going, but I have no doubt that he got there, eventually. If you follow his example, you will get where you intend to go too. Set your intentions now, for the journeys you will take in 2013. Remember the little mole, and have a Happy New Year!

Ironically, not long after this incident with the mole, on November 1st I sighted a cougar in our home town of Afton, MN. I have lived here for almost 23 years and had never seen one before, but there was no question as this long, low animal turned his face to look straight into my headlights. I looked up cougar sightings online and learned that cougars have been reported here along the St. Croix River.

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My dog Bandit had to have surgery in November after tearing one of his dewclaws several times. His veterinarian commented on how quickly and how well he healed. I attribute that to daily exercise and good nutrition, including his daily dose of Omega Fields Canine Shine. Get your pets off to a good start in 2013 by giving them the superior nutrition of Omega Fields Canine Shine and Omega Nuggets. Best wishes for a happy new year to you and your four-legged friends!